Do casinos really serve the public interest? Do they contribute to the betterment of its citizens, to a more just society?

I maintain that they do not contribute to the social welfare of New York. Casinos are, ultimately, an exercise in wealth re-distribution, one that works in a deliberative, pernicious manner to widen the already cavernous gap between the rich and the poor. Casinos extract wealth disproportionately from people who, if they were more conscious and assiduous about their choices in life, would not be found astride a high stool in front of an obstreperous, video-enabled reverse ATM, within the glittering walls of a temptress casino, emptying their hard-won dollars from their wallets and purses.

Unfortunately, casinos don't engage in means-testing; otherwise, they would, beneficially, turn away the clueless thousands who really shouldn't be there. As a result, casinos ultimately extract millions of dollars (can anyone say, "tax"?) from people who can least afford it.

The ultimate result is (notwithstanding the fortunate few winners) an even more impoverished citizenry — one which will have even greater difficulty paying its heating bills in the winter, putting food on the table for its families, and sending its children to college, all because a governor whose myopic vision of New York is similarly morally impoverished, focused only on the bottom line, instead of the greater good.